Social Media Research Centre Development Project

1. To establish a Social Media Research Center by June 2017, which should first act as an informal research group and should commence operations by February 2018.
2. To improve the quality of scholarly research in the organization by 50%, by utilizing existing, untapped research expertise available in the organization.
3. To expand the operations of the institution by tapping into an existing market niche in social media research that is currently underutilized.
4. To increase the quantity of research content by 37% for students in Masters and Doctorate programs in the field of social media,for whose demand is on the rise.
5. To develop a web application for the Research Center by December 2017, which should offer a platform for both students and staff to upload and access research information. The website will be used to endorse the center.

• The top most priority of this project is to help expand the operations of the organization through making more research content in the field of social media (new research area).
• Since the researchers are already available in the company, there will be increased productivity and consequently increased revenues. As for the students, they’ll have a platform (developed website) where they can access much more information on this area.  
• The research center will contribute to the education of people both inside and outside the institution. In a nutshell, the resulting areas of impact can be ranked as strategic (most impacted), operational, customer, financial, and lastly social(least impacted).
• The values that will be achieved by this project are better, where the quality of scholarly research from the organization will be improved, thus better services and do more since the organization will grow in terms of a bigger market share in the research field.
• The goal of the project is to improve the quality of research by 50%, to serve a larger pool of students(determined by the number of hits on the website in every 3 months) and increase the amount of social media research content by 50%.

Should the project meet the requirements below, it will be deemed to be successful:

• An established research center by Feb 2018 which will initially act as an informal research group, and should commence operations by June 2017.
• A corresponding research center website that meets all the user requirements i.e. all concerned parties are able to perform tasks with respect to their assigned roles and responsibilities.
• The developed website offers information on all issues related to social media and reaches/ attracts more students to utilize these resources.
• Both the website and the research center should be up and running by Feb 2018 and the costs incurred are below AUD 50000.
• An improvement in the quality of scholarly research output from research department as a result of this center.
• The website is be accessible over the institution’s intranet.
• Both the website and the center should adhere to the set standards and regulations (internal and external).

Assumptions- All the necessary resources required (e.g. computers and necessary software to develop the website) are readily available and thus the project will kick start immediately.

Constraints- The project should be done by Feb 2018 and the budget should not go beyond 50000AUD.

As the project is progressing, the following activities shall be incorporated to ensure it completes successfully:

• A project plan and schedule will be drafted and followed to the letter.
• Time, cost and quality will be the drivers of the project and at no time shall either of them be compromised.
• Communication will be open at all times among team members and stakeholders.

Commitment to the project declaration:

Project members will communicate through emails or face to face as they’ll be located in the same place. The project manager will communicate with the project sponsor through phone calls, face to face or emails depending on the confidentiality/ urgency of the information to be relayed.

Changes that will be happening will be communicated during weekly meetings for those that aren’t urgent or through phone calls to concerned parties for the urgent ones.

Meeting among all the stakeholders shall be held monthly. The program manager shall be responsible for compiling the minutes and sending them to all parties after every meeting. The project manager shall come up with the agendas (with help from other stakeholders) and call for meetings.

References

1. Bright Hub Project Management (2017): Communication plans www.brighthubpm.com/templates-forms/16931-an-example-communication-plan-or-the=project-manager/#imgn_0Retrieved on 17^thApril 2017
2. Berniz, Angel (online): Defining Acceptance Criteria for successful projects www.projectmanagers.org/acceptance-criteria/Retrieved on 17^thApril 2017
3. Classless notes (2017): IT Project Management www.classlessnotes.blogspot.co.ke/?m=1Retrieved on 17^thApril 2017
4. Usmani, Fahad (online): Assumptions and Constraints in Project Management www.pmstudycircle.com/2012/10/assumptions-and-constraints-in-project-management/Retrieved on 17^thApril 2017
5. Kanemoto Guide Service (2017): Measurable Organizational value (MOV) www.kanemotosguideservice.weebly.com/measurable-organization-value-mov.htmlRetrieved on 17^thApril 2017
6. Wikipedia (2017): Project Charter www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_charterRetrieved on 17^thApril 2017
7. Knowledge (2017): Quality as an Effect Means Marketable Value www.jtbogden.blogspot.co.ke/2014/01/quality-as-efect-means-value.html?m=1Retrieved on 17^thApril 2017
8. Community Tool Box (2017): Developing a Plan for Communication    www.ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/participation/communication-plan/mainRetrieved on 17^thApril 2017.